Tuesday December 7, 2021

QOD:  If you’re in the ocean with no flippers and no life preserver and you hear a helicopter, this is music.  You have to adjust to your needs at the moment.  ~  Tom Waits (b. Dec. 7, 1949), American singer-songwriter

Fire and Rain.

17-Across. *  Spends time in the gym: WORKS OUT.  Fire Works and Rain Out.

26-Across. *  Upscale eatery service for topper wearers: HAT CHECK.  Fire Hat and Rain Check.

54-Across. *   Times Square New Year's Eve custom: BALL DROP.  Fire Ball and Raindrop.  Last year's Ball Drop.  This year people can attend as long as they are vaccinated.

65-Across. *   When employment ends, formally: EXIT DATE.  Fire Exit and Rain Date.

And the unifier:

38. James Taylor classic ... or, respectively, what can precede the two words in each answer to a starred clue: FIRE AND RAIN.  The first word of each theme answer can be paired with Fire and the second word can be paired with Rain.

Across:

1. Sneaker feature: LACE.

5. Balance scale container: PAN.  //  And 70-Across. Balanced conditions: STASES.

8. Plays the role of: ACTS AS.

14. Milky white gem: OPAL.  Hi, Kazie!  Opals come in all different colors.  I think of Opals as coming from Australia, which is a large source of the stone, but they are also found in many other countries.

15. Focus of modern-day surfing: EGO.

16. Most achy: SOREST.

19. Shrimp entrée: SCAMPI.  It's supposed to be an easy dish to make.

20. Prime meridian std.: GST.  As in Greenwich Standard Time.  Also known as Greenwich Mean Time.  Everything you wanted to know about GST but didn't know to ask.

21. Make into law: ENACT.

23. Quaking tree: ASPEN.

24. One of the Coen brothers: ETHAN.  Ethan Coen ( Ethan Jesse Coen; Sept. 21, 1957) and his brother Joel ( Joel Daniel Coen; Nov. 29, 1954) are American filmmakers.  Even if you don't recognize their names, you probably recognize some of their films: Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, and Fargo are just a few of their films.

Joel (left) and Ethan (right) Coen

28. Big-time celeb: A-LISTER.  Not to be confused with the Scottish name Alister.

31. P-like Greek letter: RHO.  By now, we should all have memorized the Greek alphabet because the letters appear with such frequency in the puzzles.

32. ACLU issues: RTs.  As in Civil Rights.  The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in January 1920.

33. Smell really bad: REEK.  //  And 13-Down. Smells really bad: STINKS.

34. Crosses (out): X'ES.

36. Antiquated: OLD.

42. "__ on my watch!": NOT.

43. Chaney of horror films: LON.  Lon Chaney (né Leonidas Frank Chaney; Apr. 1, 1883 ~ Aug. 26, 1930) was a versatile stage and film actor, however, he has been typecast as a figure in horror films.

44. Where some surfers shop: EBAY.  The history of eBay.  The first item listed for sale was a broken laser pointer in 1995.

47. Nonprofit URL ending: ORG.

50. __ Lingus: AER.  Aer Lingus is the flag carrier of Ireland.

52. Ophthalmologist's field: EYE CARE.

57. Calf-length skirts: MIDIs.

58. Like the sea when waves are crashing: AROAR.

Lions Roar

59. NFL Dolphins' home: MIAMI.

62. Bloodshot: RED.

63. Broadway's Ethel: MERMAN.  Ethel Merman (née Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; Jan. 16, 1908 ~ Feb. 15, 1984) was in many Broadway shows.

67. Cheese in some bagels: ASIAGO.  Yummers!  I generally however opt for the Everything Bagel.

68. Freight weight: TON.

69. Old Spice competitor: AFTA.  Old Spice and Afta are both aftershave products.

71. Aardvark's morsel: ANT.

72. Common flag symbol: STAR.  You can see some flags with stars here.

Down: 

1. Transmission choice for steep ascents: LOW GEAR.

2. Biblical disciple: APOSTLE.

3. One driving the wrong way?: CAR THIEF.  Fun clue.

4. Lodge member: ELK.

5. Menial laborer: PEON.

6. Océano filler: AGUA.  Hi, Lucina!  Today's Spanish lesson.  There is a lot of water in the ocean.

7. V-shaped slit: NOTCH.

8. Pack animal: ASS.

9. Pepsi rival: COCA-COLA.  Coke vs. Pepsi.  What's your choice?  I would select Coke.

10. Vandalize: TRASH.

11. Start of the Marines' motto: SEMPER.  The Marine motto is Semper Fidelis, which is Latin for Always Faithful.

12. Appearance: ASPECT.

18. Dispatched: SENT.

22. Driveway material: TAR.

25. Welcome to one's home: ASK IN.  Could also be parsed as As Kin, which would be welcoming family into one's home.

27. Like rosebushes: THORNY.

29. New Hampshire prep school town: EXETER.  I will be near Exeter, New Hampshire next week.

30. Actor Stephen: REA.  Stephen Rea (b. Oct. 31, 1946) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

35. NBC weekend show: SNL.  Saturday Night Live has become a crossword staple.

37. Cinque times due: DIECI.  Today's Italian lesson.  5 x 2 = 10.

39. Blowup on the highway: ROAD RAGE.  

40. Buck's partner: DOE.

41. Annual hoops player selection event: NBA DRAFT.

45. Short operatic solo: ARIETTA.  Not a Tuesday word.

46. "Whatever you say, honey": YES, DEAR.

47. Trumps' White House predecessors: OBAMAs.

48. Least cooked: RAREST.  Rawest also fits in the spaces provided and is only 1 letter off.

49. Vocalist Estefan: GLORIA.  Gloria Estefan (née Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; b. Sept. 1, 1957) was the lead singer in the Miami Sound Machine.

51. CD follower: ROM.  Compact Disc-Read Only Memory.

53. Radiate: EMIT.

55. Asian priests: LAMAs.

14th Dalai Lama

56. Michelangelo masterwork: PIETÀ.  The Pietà is housed in the Vatican.  In 1972, a deranged man attacked the sculpture and caused serious damage.  The statue is now behind a pane of bullet-proof glass.  Interesting fact:  This is the only known piece of work actually signed by Michelangelo.

60. Neural transmitter: AXON.

61. Like new: MINT.  Origin of the term Mint Condition.

64. Turndowns: NOs.

66. Courtroom figs.: DAs.  As in District Attorneys.  They would be in state courts in criminal trials.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה